Quote:
Originally Posted by wretched34
6'4" 200+lb Center. Tied for 5th in team goals, top 10 in NHL rookie goals.
And why compare seasons by age?
Bennett's 23 year old season will be his 6th full NHL season, where as Jankowski's was his 1st.
Jankowski proved to be a reliable 2 way player, who can play in all situations, and provide offense, all while playing with bottom 6 players who struggled greatly to provide offense, Bennett included.
Will Jankowski grow to be a ppg 1st line center? I don't believe so. Can he be a 60 point 2 way center, who plays in the top 6. I believe so. Depending on the style of game played by the team, that could make him your number 1 (ala Patrice Bergeron, who has never put up a ppg season in the NHL in fact averages just under 60pts/season), or your number 2.
Considering it was his rookie season, I'd say he's close to untouchable, as it's way, way, way to early to move this player just because he entered the league later than a CHL drafted player.
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I'm not ready to move on from Jankowski either, but it is highly unlikely that he continues to develop to the point where he is a first line center. Are there any other examples of a player breaking into the league at 23 and then a few years later becoming a top line player? I'ts fair to compare age vs season for young players because it highlights where they are on a development cycle.
Patrice Bergeron is also known as the very best defensive center of this era. That isn't a fair comparison for Janko at all.
Janko had spurts where he provided strong two way play, but there were also many points in the season where he faded and became invisible. Why does Jankowski get the benefit of "providing offense" while playing with bottom six players and Bennett doesn't? They finished with nearly identical point totals.
Top 10 in goals for NHL rookies, sounds nice but nearly everybody ahead of him on that list is significantly younger than him. It just isn't very often a player develops into a stud when they are that old already.
Again, I like Janko and think he is a useful player, but he is far from untouchable. That designation is reserved for players like Gaudreau and Tkachuk.